A case involving a fine of NOK 12,000 has attracted unusually high interest. 72-year-old Arne Wikan says he received a lot of support from the villagers when he refused to accept punishment after a fishing trip on 1 June last year. The Pasvik river forms the border between Norway and Russia. Therefore, there are strict rules for traveling here. Arne Wikan believes he knows the rules. According to the judgment, he has not breached them either. Nevertheless, he must be punished because he did not immediately follow the border guards’ orders to leave the area. Wikan himself believed that he did not receive this order until the police arrived at the scene later in the evening. In court, the border guards and other witnesses were very clear that they asked him to leave the area immediately. The Indre and Østre Finnmark district court has believed in that. They have also found him guilty of not giving his name to the border guards. – Haven’t done anything wrong Wikan reacted strongly to being stopped during the fishing trip in Harefossen, even though the border guards could not prove any offence. Nor was it claimed in court that Wikan had crossed the border while fishing. – I haven’t done anything wrong. Why should I provide personal details then? Can someone come on the street and say they don’t like me being there and demand personal details? I have the right to be in my area and fish, said Wikan when he was questioned by the prosecutor. Defense attorney Jon Bertelsen thought the police overreacted and went beyond the law when they refused Wikan to be in the area. Lawyer Jon Bertelsen thought the police overreacted when they turned Wikan away. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn The Police Act states that the police can turn people away only if there are no milder methods. The court believes the border guards did not have good alternatives, after they had spoken to Wikan about the regulations earlier in the evening. “After the first conversation with the border guard, Wikan continued to navigate in such a way that it was not possible for the border guard to identify whether Wikan stayed on the Norwegian side of the border line. As the court sees it, it was therefore necessary and proportionate to react with the order that was given.” The defense also said in court that someone had to be about to commit an offense before the police could intervene. There must be an imminent danger, not just an imaginary possibility, said Bertelsen. The court agrees with the principle, but assesses the specific situation differently. They believe Wikan fished so close to the limit repeatedly that there was an imminent danger that he could break the law. The police thus had cover in the law when they decided to deport him, the judgment states. It is unanimous. Milder sentence On one small point, Wikan can enjoy some support from the court: He receives a lesser sentence than the prosecutor asked for. The fine was initially NOK 12,000. That includes a discount for accepting the penalty outright. Since the case went to court, he should be sentenced to a fine of NOK 14,400, the prosecutor believed. The district court, on the other hand, believed that Wikan had good reasons to take the case to court, and sentenced him to pay only the original fine – i.e. NOK 12,000. The police in Finnmark are in any case satisfied that the verdict leaves no doubt about the border guards’ duties and authority. – The police are satisfied that the judgment states that people who travel in the border area are obliged to comply with orders and provide their personal information to the police and the border guard, says the section leader for prosecution, Hege F. Christiansen. Arne Wikan escapes a higher sentence after he refused to accept the original proposal. Photo: news Will have a dialogue with the border guards Arne Wikan and his defender received the verdict on Tuesday evening, and are in the process of going through it thoroughly. He has previously said that it will be difficult to accept a guilty verdict after a perfectly legal fishing trip. – There is a high probability that we will appeal, but we have to work on the case a bit first, says Wikan to news today. He still wants the local population to be met with greater understanding and respect from the border guards. He also said that at the end of the trial. – I want to achieve something with it. It’s not just to protest. There must be better relations between the border guards and the civilian population, he said. Arne Wikan wants better dialogue between border guards and the local population in Pasvik. Photo: news
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Arne Wikan sentenced for not removing himself from the fishing spot on the border with Russia in Pasvik – news Troms and Finnmark
